8th President of Iona College Named

[tootie223]

As expected, for the first time in Iona history the College will have a lay President - Dr. Joseph E. Nyre.
www.iona.edu/about/presidentialsearch/

[St. Louis Gael]

From reading his background, he is well suited to coping with the nut-house on North Avenue. I would expect an elevation of the Education program at Iona, given his background.

I do not see the strong leadership experiences so vital to the continued elevation of Iona. I also don't see the business connections, which are what gave Iona it's strong regional foot-print. A solid academic; we'll see on the leadership and organizational development.

[Mr Doom]

I obviously will hold any hard opinions until I am able to do more research and see how things develop.
That said, I must say that, from a cursory look, this decision is both strange and troubling. The new president's expertise appears to be in psychology with a great deal of emphasis on autism and ADHD. He also appears to be deeply involved in social-services concerns.
I do not see a strong background in academics.
In addition, the fact is, Iona College is a Catholic Institution. I fully expected our next president to come from other than the Brothers; however, I did expect that the new president would be one who exhibited a background with support of Catholic Educational Philosophy. If he fits into that category, he has certainly hidden those credentials well.
I wish our new president well and hope my concerns will prove to be not well founded; however, as of today, I am quite skeptical.
My concern is for Iona College and its future! Hopefully, Iona will continue its mission and not stray from the path upon which the Christian Brothers have placed it!

[hawaii bill]

Sounds like he's got a good track record in fund raising and experience as an administrator taking a financially strapped institution and revitalizing it. That must be what the BOT's was looking for and what we need. Personally, I'm not troubled having a lay President. I think its progressive.

Like the fact that he's young (and presumably energetic) and a mid-westerner too. Probably likes hoops.

[Z-73]

Do you think he could use his psychology background to help the team make free throws?

[Cjb]

ctbill hit the nail on the head - the primary duty of a College President these days is fund raising.

I trust the committee made a terrific choice and look forward to Dr. Nyres leadership in the continued advancement of all aspects of Iona College.

[ic59]

Dr. Nyre has been described as a man of deep faith and proficient at fund raising. As far as his academic credentials, they are FAR over my head, but I have faith in Jim Hynes, Br. Novak, Ed Mann and the rest of the Selection Committee. My prayers are with him.

[Mr Doom]

ic59, the concerns I expressed were a reflection of my love for Iona College and its future. As I said, my hope is that my concerns are proven to be totally groundless.
I wish nothing but the best for Iona and our new President.

PS - your reference to the people who made this decision and their high quality and love for Iona goes a long way to relieve my worries. I too hold each of them in the highest of esteem!

[GuyF]

I like the hire. We'll see how it turns out.

[hawaii bill]

Feb 15, 2011 21:51:43 GMT -5 Cjb said:

ctbill hit the nail on the head - the primary duty of a College President these days is fund raising.

I trust the committee made a terrific choice and look forward to Dr. Nyres leadership in the continued advancement of all aspects of Iona College.

Yep, and if he's a great fund raiser, we may soon have the new 4,500 seat ConnBill Campus Center for mens and women's hoops. ;D

[Super]

I too will reserve judgement. (My first reaction was that his resume was amateurish, academic background light, and no significant fund-raising experience.) I hope the faculty was in support of this selection.